The Slowik family meets their first financial goal and are already working on paying down debt.
“Paradigm Health is committed to the health and well-being of their staff and that includes our financial health, too.”
Financial goal #1: Accomplished! Beginning in early 2020, Slowik and her husband began the Smart Dollar financial well-being program offered to Paradigm Health employees to help them gain financial well-being. In this second installment of their journey to financial independence, Slowik shares that they have accomplished their first goal: To create a budget that they can stick to and to put $1,000 in a savings account by the end of March. By reaching this goal (ahead of schedule no less) they now have emergency funds and won’t be using money that ordinarily would go toward a bill payment to cover something unexpected.
“It felt great to set a goal and reach that goal, but I’ll admit that it wasn’t easy,” shares Slowik. “You know, life is always changing and evolving, and you never know what is just around the corner. We just had to make our ‘savings’ payment a priority.”
Slowik says that the program has offered a more disciplined approach to goal-setting, saving and paying down debt which will ultimately be rewarding for her family’s financial health. Now that the family has met their step–1 goal of saving $1,000 they are ready for what the Smart Dollar program calls Baby Step 2.
What’s the next step for the Slowik family?
Goal #2
The program encourages making a list of debts (excluding your mortgage) in order from the smallest to the largest debts to be eliminated. Slowik shares that at this point you aren’t as concerned with paying off debts based on interest rates or terms. By getting rid of the smaller amounts of deb first will give you some quick “wins” and will boost momentum as you move on to larger loans.
“Our next step is to start paying off debt and we have actually already paid off one of our lingering medical bills,” Slowik says. “I’m very grateful that Paradigm Health offered this great perk to their employees because it has really made a difference in our financial future. “
Most folks think of a state of physical well-being when they talk about their health. As a Central Indiana industry leader in home health, hospice and palliative care, Paradigm Health is as committed to the health and well-being of its staff as well as its patients. CEO Jeff Jarecki is firm in his belief that by being the employer of choice, they will become the provider of choice. Paradigm’s culture believes that its care and sense of value for its staff directly translates to their above-and-beyond care of patients out in the field.
“If others have not started doing this program, I encourage you to get started now,” Slowik says. “Even if you think you already know how to save money and pay off debt this plan helps you set goals and put into place a timeline that will help you stay disciplined. It feels so good to begin to relieve some of the financial stress we have been feeling as a family.”
The Smart Dollar program launched through Paradigm Health in early January and 46 staff have already signed up to be a part of the program and gain financial well-being. We’ll check back with Miranda and Dan in April to see if their savings account goal is met and what their next steps will be.
